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Coffee Taste Test: Testing The Best Of The UK’s Takeaway Coffee

Putting 5 Coffee Shop Caramel Lattes Head-to-head...

It was only when my fiance - Jordan, Amazon Primed us a cafetiere for the house that I began to stop drinking copious amounts of tea and began to have a little nosy into the world of coffee. Before that my efforts went as far as a random instant coffee (i.e. whatever was on offer in the supermarket) on the rare occassion a good cuppa couldn't give me the pick me up I needed. I also took a shine (and still do) to the iced variety in the summer months. But hot coffee? Well as a daily occurrance that never used to be my thing.

Now I love to test out many different varieties, but my favourites are always those that are milky and sweet. A latte is the perfect fit for me based on that and then add a touch of caramel to it and you've got yourself a winner, or so I thought until I actually sat down and compared them.

The thing is, there IS a difference between brands. In the same way that all coffee doesn't taste the same, neither do all caramel latte's and if I'm honest, I was rather naive to think that they would. Typically I only step foot in a coffee shop at the weekends, with my main source of coffee during the week being from our cafetiere, but this week I made an exception. I walked into 5 high street coffee shops, picked up my beloved caramel latte and wrote down my thoughts for the world to hear.

I put Starbucks, Caffe Nero, Greggs, Pret A Manger and Costa to the test and as well as my general thoughts, I've used a simple 1 - 5 rating system (with 1 being low and 5 being high) if you'd rather skip the babble. I've rated each coffee shops version of their caramel latte on taste, aroma, visual appeal, sustainability and value for money. I also made a point of not altering the lattes in any way, they're just each brands standard caramel latte, no extra bits, no added sugar etc. So let's see which one I loved the most...

Starbucks

I have fond memories of once or twice weekly Starbucks dates with my best friend before I moved to Nottingham 7 years ago now. We'd have a nosy around the shops and always end up in Starbucks armed with an iced frappucino or a hot chocolate and chatting for a good few hours. So when someone mentions heading to a coffee shop to me Starbucks is always the first place that springs to mind.

Starbucks' caramel latte was £3.35 for a grande (medium size) and came in their simple but distinctive takeaway cup. It was the right temperature to drink as soon as I was handed it with my name scribbled in black marker on the side and looked as it should with a slightly frothy milky top. It had a sweet almost comforting scent about it and a taste to follow. Sweet enough but not sickly in the slightest and smooth in taste without being too overpowering with it's coffee flavour. I have to mention that I found it to have a slight nutmeg/cinnamon taste right at the very bottom of the cup when I was finishing the last little bit as I headed into Boots to pick up some essentials. It was very subtle, but definitely there.

Starbucks as a brand are involved in ethical sourcing of their coffee from Latin America, with ethical trading and responsible growing practices. They believe in their contribution to care for the planet and be sustainable, with their 2015 goal being that all of their coffee cups would be reusable or recyclable. I couldn't find on their website whether they actually achieved that in 2015 however, or whether this is a goal they're still working towards. Starbucks also have a nice little video online about how they've volunteered within the community to give back, as well as how they're planning to volunteer over 1 million hours each year to ensure their community involvement. That said, finding this information was a little tedious, going from page to page on their website so if you're interested in sustainability and the environment in terms of food and drink, Starbucks do it but it's not all entirely clear.

Taste: 4/5

Aroma: 4/5

Visual Appeal: 4/5

Sustainability: 3/5

Value For Money: 3/5

Caffe Nero

I have to admit I've not hopped into Caffe Nero many times and although I'm not sure why, on this occassion my experience in Caffe Nero didn't go quite the same as it did in Starbucks. It seems that Caffe Neros caramel lattes aren't entirely the same as elsewhere on the highstreet. I sat down at the table armed with my bright blue cup and took the lid off to find cream had flown everywhere and it wasn't a standard latte like I thought it would have been. At £3.55 and the priciest of the bunch, Nero's offering I found out comes with vanilla flavouring in the coffee, cream on top and then caramel drizzled on top of that. So it's a creamy, vanillary, caramel concoction that I'm afraid to say is far far too sweet even for a sweet toothed girl like me. In fact, I only got a little over half way down when I decided I just couldn't drink any more. Either a smaller cup (and a smaller price tag to match) for their fancy style latte or a different variation on it would work better in my opinion.

As for the company themselves, their ethos is clear and that is something I love. Finding out about what a company stands for and how they work is incredibly interesting to me and is something I've spoke about in the past when I've tested out a variety of restaurants and shared with you here. So when a company like Nero is clear about what they stand for and appear to have it all proudly presented on their website, that gets a big thumbs up from me - it's just a shame I wasn't a fan of their caramel latte!

Nero work directly with farmers in an ethical and fair way, paying higher prices for their coffee beans as well as working with the Rainforest Alliance to encourage sustainability and supporting the communities in which they work with and their coffee beans are sourced. They also state that their milk comes from UK Red Tractor Assured farms where the welfare of the animals is monitored. In terms of waste and recycling, they're doing some interesting things with 122 of their stores collecting old coffee beans to be made into fuel since July 2016 and powering biomass boilers.

Taste: 2/5

Aroma: 3/5

Visual Appeal: 3/5

Sustainability: 3/5

Value For Money: 2/5

Greggs

I used to head into Greggs all the time years ago, I loved their chicken tikka baguettes, ginerbread men and a cup of coffee. When I got diagnosed with Coeliac Disease however, I stopped stepping food inside. I could no longer eat that baguette or gingerbread man I loved and I forgot about it in terms of coffee.

I had no idea until recently that they did more than just your standard coffee or cup of tea, they even do my beloved caramel lattes and as an added bonus for me - I've discovered they now do a good gluten free brownie too, that even gets the thumbs up from my gluten-eating fiance! Greggs is the cheapest of the bunch too, with their caramel latte coming in at £2.55.

So what does the caramel latte even taste like? I'm pleased to report that I'm genuinely a big fan, and it has nothing to do with the price or my new gluten free brownie discovery either. Greggs offering had the same comforting scent as the Starbucks latte and the best coffee to caramel ratio with a nice balance between the two. It was slightly sweeter than the Starbucks one, but that was something I liked and it looked at is should too, with a slightly frothy milky top swirled into the coffee itself. On the day I tried this it was snowing and the caramel latte certainly helped to keep my warm and act as an energizer when all I wanted to do was hide in my nice warm cosy bed.

Greggs seem to be another one of those companies who are proud of what they do with a focus on their social responsibilities of customer health, responsible sourcing, the community, the environment and the people that work for them. The Greggs blend of mild and high grown Arabica coffee from Peru and Columbia and rich Robusta beans from Tanzania are 100% fairtrade which is nice to know that despite the price to their customers they've still managed to achieve this. In fact, they're been fairtrade for over 10 years now and in that time frame they've donated over £1 million from coffee sales. Greggs have also put together the Greggs Foundation and also work with local communities and charities to make a difference and they also strive to use energy more efficiently and minimise waste.

Taste: 4/5

Aroma: 4/5

Visual Appeal: 4/5

Sustainability: 3/5

Value For Money: 4/5

Pret A Manger

Pret is another one of the popular coffee shops that I never really go in as I always thought it was way overpriced and whilst that might be true of the food, their coffee was actually one of the cheapest options at £2.85 for my caramel latte although I can see why they have done this as the coffee cup is the smallest of the bunch whilst the others from Starbucks, Caffe Nero, Greggs and Costa were all the same size.

The froth on top of the Pret one was good and it looked great but if I'm honest I was left feeling really underwhelmed by both the smell and taste of my caramel latte. The best way I could describe it is by saying it was ok, but nothing to rave about and although I drank it all and it wasn't offensive in any way, I don't think I'll be picking up another one. I couldn't really taste any caramel and it was just a bit 'standard' if I'm honest.

Ethically, I do like Pret. They seem to convey themselves as more of a healthy option and this does appeal to me. Their coffee is all organic, grown in rainforests high up in the mountains somewhere - who knows where. They don't use pesticides and their fertilizers are organic too. Pret A Manger do care about sustainability and support sustainable working practices to ensure livlihoods and relationships between themselves and the farmers are maintained. Like the majority of the other high street coffee shops I mentioned, Pret also get their milk from the UK too but they also ensure that theirs is organic too.

Taste: 2/5

Aroma: 2/5

Visual Appeal: 4/5

Sustainability: 3/5

Value For Money: 3/5

Costa

Costa were asking customers if they wanted to try out a new smoother Peruvian blend of coffee they were currently trialing out when I headed into the store on Saturday to give their caramel latte a whirl. But to ensure my comparison was fair I asked them if I could have their standard blend used in my caramel latte and I can see why they might be trialing a smoother blend as their standard option was a little more bitter in taste than others I've tried and with that it was more distinct in flavour, now this might be something that some people like (me included) as we all have our own preferences when it comes to any food and drink. That said, my caramel flavouring would have sweetened it up a touch anyway. Appearance-wise it looked as it should and it was fairly average price-wise too at £3.10.

Like the other brands mentioned Costa are also putting an emphasis on sustainability and environmental issues. They are also part of the Rainfort Alliance to support sustainability and the lives of the farmers where their coffee beans are sourced. They're conscious about their impact on the environment using a range of methods to counteract this including recycling with their fully recyclable wood pulp cups, coffee machines that turn themselves off to save energy when they're not needed and they pride themselves on being one of the greenest coffee roasters with a 100% renewable energy supply, 0% landfill waste and continual reduction of their carbon footprint every year. Amazing!

Taste: 3/5

Aroma: 3/5

Visual Appeal: 4/5

Sustainability: 4/5

Value For Money: 3/5

So which one is the best? In all honesty I think it depends on what you're looking for, but for me personally I'm rather impressed with Greggs pocket pleasing option that's great in flavour too. That said if you're looking for somewhere to sip on your coffee leisurely with a selection of seating on offer then Starbucks might be a good choice and their caramel latte comes a close second on taste too.

Post written in collaboration with Greggs to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight 2018. All opinions are 100% my own.